Cape Ann #2 Pics/report

[raxafarian]

Spectre, mshieldsdunn, and myself at Pebble Beach. Mrs. mshieldsdunn also along... held the fort on shore.

1st dive: Some waves, surge. Lost my fin while trying to put my mask on... should do that before entering water (especially when carrying camera). Luckily spectre found it in the clear (2ft.) vis in the surf zone. Checked out the rocky reefs for bugs. Saw some 'baby bugs', some crabs, flounder. Great dive.

Only had 2000 psi in 2nd tank... plus sinuses acting up, so I sat out the 2nd... I'll let one of the other 2 talk about that dive.

Another lesson learned... it is very important to turn off the internal flash on the nikon 995... otherwise it reflects off the housing and will underexpose everything... so only a few UW pics this time. The crab pic that looks ok was 'photoshopped'.

pics are HERE

Oh yea... the fish and wildlife guys (or whatever MA. calls 'em) came by and checked us for lobsters... they were very nice. Then the a**hole Rockport cop came by...saw 4 people standing together and started in on us by saying "Hey, you need a permit from us to hold a class here" we told him we weren't a class, and he said that all classes need a permit and drove off. Oh well, we had a good day, and he musta had a crappy day

Looking forward to next time!
Ken

 

[MSilvia]

Sorry I bailed out, but I'll definately be back in the water next weekend. Too bad the vis was low... I assume it improved outside the surf zone.

 

[MSilvia]

You never mentioned the location.

 

[Spectre]

Originally posted by raxafarian
Only had 2000 psi in 2nd tank... plus sinuses acting up, so I sat out the 2nd... I'll let one of the other 2 talk about that dive.

I'll let Matt comment from his side of the dives. My dives were basically "lobster,buddies,lobster,buddies,lobster,buddies" but
they definately were great dives. The second dive we went out a little farther, and _definately_ found the cold water. I should have expected as much as I had switched to my thin gloves for the second dive.

The surf was a little challenge, but we all managed through it.

I was getting a little nervous that I wasn't going to score a bug, and it was actually after the dive was turned and we were working our way back did I see one that was promising (and ended up a keeper). I found one more and was probably legal but was a female with eggs.

Oh yea... the fish and wildlife guys (or whatever MA. calls 'em) came by and checked us for lobsters... they were very nice.

The environmental police. Definately a great bunch of guys. Every time they stop by as I'm gearing up they give me an update on the conditions for the day, vis; currents; temp. If I'm getting ready to go in the water they won't ask for my permit, but instead they ask dive time so they can come back at a more convenient time. The guys yesterday checked my permit, and measured my bug. I knew there might be an issue with him, and sure enough, the ranger looked at the missing flipper. I commented "I wasn't going to take it with the missing flipper, but then I checked and it's a male, so if I did rip off a V-notch, someone didn't know what they were doing". He looked at me for a second, flipped it over and said "Hey...your right. you have a good meal!".

Oh... we were all wondering why they drove by Matt, then by Ken, and stopped by me and asked me if I had any lobsters... I figured it out. 1) My catch bag was in view, and 2) my dive bag was open and the only thing in my bag at the time was a backup catch bag and a bag of lobster bands!

Then the a**hole Rockport cop came by

But alas, there must be balance in the world. I had such an urge to ask him what had his panties in a bunch. You'd think he could come up with better people skills then to introduce himself by accusing me of teaching a class without a permit. Ok... we were all standing around with our logbooks, so it might have looked fishy, but the assumption that it was an "illegal class" was a little over the top.

Definately a great couple of dives.

 

[Spectre]

Originally posted by MSilvia
Sorry I bailed out,

Not a problem... we assumed that you were going to give the tat another week.

Too bad the vis was low... I assume it improved outside the surf zone.

Oh no.. the vis thing was just on the pebbles near the beach [hint hint], but once we got out closer to the reef for a decent, it was probably 10 ft or so, and then 15-20 when we got out to the second reef.

 

[Spectre]

"If I hold it way out, maybe it'll look bigger than a crayfish"

http://www.raxafarian.com/pebble/pebblebeach 075 (Small).jpg

 

[Natasha]

Thanks for sharing these PICS. They are GREAT! Jeff you look like the proud papa of that 'Newly brought to the surface' bug.
Glad you guys had a good time.

 

[raxafarian]

Originally posted by MSilvia
You never mentioned the location.

was on first line... you've been out of the water too long.

 

[King Kong Matt]

Both dives on Sat. were awesome. The surf made for an interesting entry/exit, but as soon as we snorkeled out a little ways, the visibility really picked up...

A little bit of photography, a little bit of bug-hunting, me working on my flag-toting skills...something for everyone.

All in all, a great day of diving with two great buddies. My one regret? That more of you couldn't show!!! Next time.

BTW, about noon today, I exit the water from my second dive at Old Garden Beach...as I go to un-gear, I see the SAME cop from the Environmental Police yesterday...this time he got a little more lucky...someone grabbed something w/o the right paperwork...

Hope everyone enjoys the pictures...I sure did. Thanks raxafarian for posting them!

Matthew

 

[Spectre]

Originally posted by mshieldsdunn

BTW, about noon today, I exit the water from my second dive at Old Garden Beach...as I go to un-gear, I see the SAME cop from the Environmental Police yesterday...this time he got a little more lucky...someone grabbed something w/o the right paperwork...

I hope that it was just a case of them forgetting their license, and not actually someone taking without a license, or even worse... taking illegal bugs. While I don't always agree with the management of the lobster fisheries, it's their responsibility to manage it the best they can, and I personally am happy to cooperate with spot checks... it gives me the piece of mind that it's being done...